A sad fact is that some U.S. military personnel who are no longer in active service will buy similar or identical service weapons to “protect them” on the homefront.

In fear of imminent attack, they secretly keep these firearms with or near them at all times. That’s scary.

Shadows of war plague these service people who still feel vulnerable, like potential targets of combat, thus they must stay “combat-ready.”

This spoiled fruit from the tree of war was described by a major and substantiated by a college professor (Army retired) who for years carried a military-type firearm, then weaned himself down to a knife, then finally to a “chap stick,” which he endowed with special powers of protection … an aberration, it appears, of post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by war.

Claire J. Baker

Pinole

Happy that cattle are off the trails

This is an answer to a recent commentary about cow roaming in open space. First of all, a person was not supposedly injured by a cow. That person was badly injured — lawsuit material. Another person, as witnessed by this writer, was tossed onto his back — fortunately the ground was rain-softened and serious injury was averted. Several others have been menaced by groups of steers.

All these instances took place on hiking trails.

The goats did an excellent job in clearing the areas adjacent to the properties mentioned and were controlled by dogs and fences. We have to question how many of the pro-cattle advocates actually walk or hike in the hills.

If they do, they have to have noticed the difference in the environment since the cattle were removed. Nature being restored slowly — erosion of paths and trails is still painfully evident. It is a pleasure not to have to wade through the massive cattle droppings — if only cattle knew to stay off the trails.

J.Y. Jacobson MD

Walnut Creek

Once again we got snookered

It’s truly amazing how little we learn from mistakes. We spent nine years, huge dollars and 58,000 Americans lives to prevent South Vietnam from becoming Communist. God, what a waste. We expunged 3 million human Asian lives, yet achieved no victory whatsoever. Even though the so-called enemy won, nobody today, not even the Birch Society, considers Communist Vietnam a threat to anyone.

We believed all the garbage about “dominoes” tipping over, turning Asia into one big Communist empire, plus constant rah-rah baloney from the White House that “victory is just around the corner.” Then we promptly forgot everything we’d just learned.

Jeez, you’d think that would’ve taught us something. By 2003, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were doing it again, warning America that the “smoking gun” of 9/11 would become “a mushroom cloud over New York.” It turned out to be more lies cooked up by neo-cons and corporate bosses who knew that war would increase their wealth exponentially. And it did. Once again we got snookered.

Boy, oh boy, how we forget.

James Snyder

Benicia

Don’t tell citizens how to vote

Although most newspapers attempt to tell citizens how to vote, we believe that practice is not appropriate.

We don’t know how or by whom these issues, as well as candidates, are decided. All registered voters receive an Official Voters Information Guide. If voters are unable to make their own selections, then they probably should not vote.

Newspapers are for news and are not expected to tell people what to do.

It should be against the law for newspapers to tell people how to vote. Why don’t you just step into the booth with them?

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